Roll call: How Erie-area members of Congress voted last week

WASHINGTON -- Here's how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending Friday.

House

Food stamps cuts

Voting 217 for and 210 against, the House on Thursday passed a Republican bill (HR 3102) to cut spending on food stamps by nearly $4 billion annually over 10 years, resulting in a projected budget of at least $75 billion per year for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Benefits for veterans, pregnant women

Voting 193 for and 230 against, the House on Sept. 19 Thursday defeated a Democratic bid to prohibit HR 3102 (above) from denying food stamps to veterans, pregnant women, seniors, the disabled or minor children in the event of a U.S. government shutdown or default on its debt.

A yes vote was to ensure uninterrupted benefits for veterans and certain other categories of food stamps recipients.

Health law defunding, stopgap spending

Voting 230 for and 189 against, the House on Friday sent the Senate a stopgap appropriations measure (HJ Res 59) to fund the government between Oct. 1-Dec. 15 at a spending rate of $986 billion per year for discretionary domestic, military and foreign affairs programs. The Republican bill also would defund and thus kill the 2010 health law that is known as Obamacare while continuing the blind, across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.

Senate

Federal Judge Elaine Kaplan

Voting 64 for and 35 against, the Senate on Sept. 17 confirmed Elaine D. Kaplan as a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims, which hears monetary claims against the federal government. The 16 federal claims judges are appointed for 15-year terms. Kaplan, 57, joins the court from her dual positions as general counsel and acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.